Poverty is the biggest obstacle for public schools

The myth at the core of the "corporate reform" movement is that there is a problem with public schools that can be solved by privatizing them.  This is false.  The reality is that American public schools are good.  The problem with public schools that are challenged is not what's going on in the schools, it's the poverty it the community they served.  Obviously, that is not changed by privatizing their schools.  These two graphs from the Atlantic illustrate the point.  You can read the full article at How Poverty Sinks Our Schools (in 2 Graphs), the Atlantic, October 24, 2013.